Saudi Oger forced to pay owed worker wages by court – report

Saudi Arabia’s Executive Court has issued a verdict forcing troubled construction firm Saudi Oger to pay wages owed to employees, according to reports.

Saudi Gazette reports that the court confirmed it had provided Oger, owned by the family of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, with a grace period to implement the verdict as allowed by regulation.

The court is in the process of forcing the company to pay the dues owed to employees through sequestration of its properties and assets, according to the publication.

A slowdown in the kingdom’s construction sector and delays to government payments saw Saudi Oger and other firms lay off thousands of workers, many of which had not been paid for months.

Read: Saudi Oger owes $800m to workers, banks – reports

In April, Oger sold a 2.8 per cent in Saudi Investment Bank. The bank was also reportedly in the process of selling its $1.12bn stake in Jordan’s Arab Bank in December after seeking a payment freeze on $3.5bn of local bank debt the previous month.

Read: Saudi Oger seeks payment freeze on $3.5bn local bank debt – sources

Oger’s debt to local banks was estimated at SAR13bn ($3.46bn) in November and it was speculated at the time it could seek a substantial debt restructuring deal.

Saudi Gazette’s sister publication Okaz cited sources as saying the courts were getting ready to take several businessmen, real estate agents, managers and chairmen of banks and large companies to the kingdom’s Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution for failing to implement verdicts.